Dr. Michael Shlafstein, Vernon Family Dentists. My parents moved to FL 6 years ago, and they still schedule their routine dental checkups around when they are up here visiting, because they just can't give him up. I personally drive an hour from Essex...

I went 7 years with no dental checkups even though I had horrible teeth (genetics...), and then finally bit the bullet and scheduled. I needed a crown, about 13 fillings across all 4 corners of my mouth, and my wisdom teeth removed. It took about a year of visits to get through everything, but get through it we did, and I've had my first positive "your teeth look great!" comments from the hygienists that I've ever gotten in my life after going through the whole process.

It wasn't cheap, but I was so happy to never get a whiff of the judgment I always had when I was growing up and the dentist/hygienist would accuse me of not taking care of my teeth. :( Those experiences were so negative I stopped going, which is if course exactly not the right thing when it comes to teeth...

Anyway, I see Dr. Mike now and I don't know what I'll do when he retires! He has started seeing my husband as well, who had also gone ~4 years with no dental checkups, and got him through the wisdom teeth removal process as well.

Recommend. And good luck! I am sure there are other similarly-minded dentists in our state and you can find one a little closer to home.

This site might be helpful for you:

https://paidfamilyleavect.org/faq/

Is my job protected while I am out on paid family and medical leave?

Yes. Under changes to Connecticut’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), you are eligible for job protection (regardless of the size of your employer) after working at your employer for 3 months.

Husband (28M) and I (35F) bought a house in Middletown in 2020 for $278k. 3 bed / 2 ba, 1900 sq feet when you include the finished basement, on a nice half acre that backs up to some woodlands.

We put ~14k (5%) down. Combined income was $140k/y. No kids, no other debt - we cleared the last of his college debt in 2019. We've put about $40k into the house for improvements (central air, electrical upgrades, kitchen, garage door, redo the stair to the basement, etc).

Currently pay about $1750/mo for mortgage, taxes, and insurance. Just wiggled out from under the $50/mo PMI due to market increases, which is a great feeling.

Honestly we only won the bid for this house because for some bizarre reason it was listed at ~$240k even though we knew after a walkthrough it would appraise in the $275k range. So, we were competing with people trying to get it at the $240k price point instead of the price point we were offering. Just lucked out.

The Rails to Trails by Bolton Notch, especially the part that's set down into the earth with a rock wall and trees on either side. Beautiful in every season, but especially the green leafy enclave in the spring, or in the fall when the leaves turn. I had my wedding photos taken there, after rain when the rocks were weeping water.

My one comment is: rather than thinking $12000 for home down payment, think $12000 for closing costs, which isn't the same thing. When I bought in 2020, we put $13000 for the down payment (5%) and an extra ~ $4500 in closing costs on top of that.

Our 100-person wedding in 2017 cost ~12,000. You can do it for much less, of course, but this was a 'the venue handles everything' middle of the road wedding.

As for the car: depends on the car - take a good look at the loan terms (length & monthly cost). I just put $20,000 down on a car and have a hard time imagining putting down less!

At the time of these purchases, husband + my combined income was ~ $140,000.